today," moving forward. president obama presents his vision to the country as he accepts the democratic nomination. murder verdict. ex-cop drew peterson is convicted of the 2004 murder of his wife kathleen savio. and a rare display. pieces of the late neil armstrong's historic space suit go on display for the first time in a decade. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with the final countdown. with election day just two months away, the end of the democrats' convention last night

marks a fresh starting point in the race for the white house, and last night president obama made his appeal for a second term saying the election is a clear choice between two different paths for america. nbc's steve handelman reports. >> liberty and justice for all! >> reporter: a symbol of recovery. arizona's gabby giffords led the pledge and amped up the energy for the president. he wanted to fire up democrats but barack obama aimed his speech at undecided voters. >> i'm asking you to rally around a set of goals for your country, goes in manufacturing, education, national security, and the deficit. real achievable plans that will lead to new jobs, more opportunity, and rebuild this economy on a stronger foundation. that's what we can do in the next four years, and that is why i am running for a second term as president of the united states. >> as joe biden likes to break,

bin laden is dead and detroit is alive. >> i've met workers in detroit and toledo who feared they'd never build another american car, and today they can't build them fast enough because we reinvented a dying auto industry that's back on top of the world. >> looking forward, the president favors keeping education and green energy programs, keeping medicare like it is, and he wants the rich to pay more for that. >> i never said this journey would be easy, and i won't promise that now. yes our path is harder, but it leads to a better place. yes, our road is longer, but we travel it together. we don't turn back. we leave no one behind. >> i've done well, he said, and i need to do more. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news at the dnc in charlotte. well, elsewhere a 21-year-old charlotte man has been arrested by the secret service for allegedly posting

threats to kill president obama on twitter. authorities say donte jamar sims was detained wednesday after posting messages including one on wednesday threatening to, quote, assassinate president obama this evening two days before the president arrived in charlotte for the democratic national convention. investigators say sims told them he hated the president and was high on marijuana when he made the posts. if convicted he faces up to five years in prison. a new generation of the kennedy family is running for political office. joseph kennedy iii won the primary yesterday. the grandson of robert f. kennedy went to stanford and harvard law school and hopes to be given the seat o barney zbrienk former ex-cop drew peterson has been found guilty in the drowning of his third

wife kathleen savio. courtroom pictures showed a stone-faced drew peterson. after just two days the jury was won over by a largely circleal case that according to one juror hinged on hearsay testimony that originated from peterson's missing fourth wife stacy whose whereabouts are still unknown. sentencing is set for september 126th. peterson faces up to 60 years in jail. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in maryland, newly released video shows a big rig hitting a police car and seriously injuring a trooper. unbelievable. the officers was performing a traffic stop when the truck slammed into his vehicle and then him. the officer may actually lose the use of his right arm. authorities say this is exactly why drivers need to slow down or move over when emergency vehicles are stopped. i'd say so. well, in new york a man was killed after this fight at a gas

station. a customer allegedly attacked a gas station agent, but it was the attendant who turned the tables and began hitting and kicking the customer, who later died. the attendant has been questioned but not charged. and finally on a much lighter note, in des moines, iowa, it was not so long for these monkeys to pick a winner of tomorrow's annual football game between the iowa state cyclones and the university of iowa hawkeyes. they went right ahead and toppled the barrel with the hawkeye's logo picking iowa for the big win. before you accuse the monkeys of being bias -- bill, i you know were just about to do that -- they beat the oddsmaker last year with going with iowa state. they have a good record, so, you know -- he's so doubting me. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's the cynical meteorologist bill karins. >> how do you know he's not tipping the one over that's

going to lose rather than the one that's going to win. >> because they explained it to them and they're monkeys and they understand. >> the same way i nod my head. >> the same actually. good morning, everyone. we have thunderstorms marking a change in the midwest. we have one good storm heading through reading, pennsylvania. this one's going to wake up a lot of people. a severe thunderstorm warning were that one. a hit-and-miss storm around scranton and williamsport. other rains aund iowa especially. we have changes coming for the weekend and changes that so many of us are going to love. we've had high humidity for most of the summer but especially over the last couple of weeks. for the southeast, mid-atlantic and chicago we're waiting for the first cost to fall and it's on its way. it's in the middle of the country. it will move all the way to the east coast by the time we get to saturday. there's going to be clouds and showers through the great lakes with this and heavy rains through missouri and eventually into illinois. but as we go through the weekend and as the storm pulls away the

cool air will move in behind it along with high pressure and it's going to be a beautiful weekend in many areas and so many people will enjoy a new air mass because the one we've had recently is so humid. this is what's on the way. 68 in minneapolis and a beautiful 74 in montana. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. we'll have a chance for some isolated storms in areas like cincinnati. again, the most concentrated heavy rains today should be in areas of iowa this morning, heading into missouri and illinois as we go throughout the afternoon. we'll continue with temperatures that are very warm in the southeast. so the southeast especially is going to be the area of the country that will have to wait the longest, until sunday for that relief. >> all right. but at least it's coming. that's a good thing. bill, thank you. also coming up, wall street roars, data shows job numbers improving, and why ben & jerry's is suing porn film makers. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead.

plus, a look at the big winners from last night's mtv's vma award. coming up a bench brawl, a costly error, and now you see him, now you don't. you're watching "early today." >> announcer: "early today" is brought to you by advil. make the switch to advil now.

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. "the new york times" reports today the white house may declare the network is a terrorist organization. the group has been blamed for deadly attacks on american troops in afghanistan. the government in pakistan has ordered foreign members of the international group save the children to leash the country. there were reports the groups helped facilitate meetings between the u.s. and a doctor who alegendly helped hunt down osama bin laden.

a texas man was the victim of a birthday prank that caused him to be removedn handcuffs from a plane in delve afterafter a phone hoax tip that he was smuggling something. christopher shell's birthday nightmare worsened when texas authorities kept him in custody for outstanding warrants. following the death of astronaut neil armstrong his gloves and visor from the 1962 moon walk will be on display at a national museum centered in virginia. meanwhile his family announced that according to his wishes, armstrong, a navy man to the end, will be buried at sea. and now here's an early look at how wall street's going to kick off the day. it was a good day. the dow closed at 13,292 after jumping 244 points yesterday. the s&p went up 28. the nasdaq surged 66. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei shot up 191 points while in hong kong the hang seng

skyrocketed 592. well, stocks sizzled thursday thanks to action on european debt and upbeat job data here at home. markets roared after the european central bank announced a bond buying program without limit to cut the borrowing rates of the eurozone's most debt-strapped countries. the program finally answers long-standing calls for a concrete aggressive plan. the effect was meade. borrowing costs for spain and italy hit their lowest levels since spring. gold also jumped hitting six-month highs settling at $1,700 an ounce. traders were boosted by u.s. companies in august at the fastest clip in five months. service sector employment jumped higher than expected. new weekly claims for job benefits fell to the low evidence level in a month. all of that was especially encouraging ahead of the key jobs report. the dow led by walt disney closing at an all-time high and

the s&p 500 led by glass maker owens illinois both soared to their highest level in more than four years. the s&p is now up 14% for the year. the dow almost 9. the nasdaq led by scan disk micron technology finished at its highest level in more than a decade. it now stands 20% up for the year. today watch smith&s we son. after the bell the gun company skyrocketed. also keep an eye on mattress firm which warned on short-term profit and plunged after hours. and finally ben & jerry's, the ice cream maker, has sued the maker of ben & cherries. x-rated dvds saying what else, the film has smeared its reputati reputation. coming up the braves win on a bungle, the o's outbomb the bombers and how to embarrass yourself after scoring a goal. plus, a big league brawl in the nation's capital.

your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. the weekend forecast is all about a taste of fall. your early morning forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports three eighth

inning homer last night by the baltimore orioles shot them back into a first place tie with the new york yankees. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. with less than a month to go in the season there's no race closer than the a.l. east, orioles and yafrpgs in a dead heat after mark reynolds unloaded in baltimore. he had an absolute terror. eight homers in seven games. the orioles won it, 7-6. the coaches went after each other in the fifth. that was quickly broken up. then in the sixth, castillo almost hit bryce harper and here we go. the bench cleared. after a few tense moments things escalated at first base. no real punches thrown. just a lot of jawing. we'll call it a draw. it's one of the eastiest things to do in baseball but the colorado rockies made it look oh so difficult. the pitch, no problem there.

rosario tossed it back. problem. chacin took his eye off the ball. didn't make the catch and in came the run. all right. it's only the second inning. we'll get it back. oh, no, you won't. it was the only run of the game and the braves won it 1-0. sad news. art modell passed away yesterday. he owned the browns and ravens for more than a decondition and moved the browns to baltimore. he was only 84. u.s. open. they call him the jocker. djokovic was all business last night. djokovic advances to the semis for a straight win. finally to the pitch, a stoppage in time. penalty kick for colin clark. he shoots and he scores and he's gone. sprints off the feed and into the tunnel. collins clark has left the building. wait a minute, come on back, colin, we've got more soccer to play.

that's more than one way to make an exit and entrance all in one play. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a terrific weekend. i'm fred roggin. coming up a big name showbiz break-up and who's the favorite at the box office this weekend. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, she's a woman who rocks. coming up, an entire new exhibit dedicated to women just like her. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. let me take you through your weekend forecast. so many of us are going to love the weekend forecast. now, for today, the relief is coming to the northern plains. that's when the temperatures are in the 60s and 70s and it's less humid. as we go through the weekend look what happen. kansas city, chicago, finally in dallas, 8 f is going to feel like the middle of winter compared to how hot it's been. by the time we get to sunday it's blown all the way through the eastern seaboard so a lot of o people will get their leaf from the summer humid and heat. well, if you're watching us on nbc 10 in philadelphia, pennsylvania, in near biwilmington, portraits through a love of food, art, and travel at the fish tails at the delaware scepter for the contemn rare arts. and that's your "early today" event of the day, lynn. >> nbc 10, my alma mater. >> youral alma mater. >> it is. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. a at the box office this weekend this could be the first time in

four years no movie will pass the $10 million mark. it's a slow one. the words a romantic thriller looks to have the best shot at the top spot. another thriller, the cold light of dede bus after sitting for quite some time on the studio shelf. that's never a good sign. and last week's champ the horror film, "the possession" i still can't get over we have to show this video. it's also got the top spot. elsewhere i'm disappointed about this one. after nine years of marriage amy poehler and will arnett have separated. mtv's video awards were held last night in los angeles. among the big winners was rihanna with "we found love" best direction. best video went to nicki minaj for starships. the kiddos loved that one. chris brown "turn up the music" drake, lil wayne.

one direction took best pop and best rock went to coldplay. some of the best known women in music or some of the things that help make their mark from lady gaga's dress made of preserved meat to patty smith's boots and loretta lynn's guitar. they're all on display starting today at the national women in the art's. aretha franklin's dress and madonna's cone dress highlights female artists going all the way back to the 1920s. >> i imagine they were a little more conservative back in the 1920s. >> no cone bra in the 1920s? you don't think so? probably a good guess. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. we're sitting on a bunch of shale gas.

there's natural gas under my town. it's a game changer. ♪ it means cleaner, cheaper american-made energy. but we've got to be careful how we get it. design the wells to be safe. thousands of jobs. use the most advanced technology to protect our water. billions in the economy. at chevron, if we can't do it right, we won't do it at all. we've got to think long term. we've got to think long term. ♪

4:28 is your time now. it is 72 degrees. a touch cooler after some rain yesterday. meteorologist veronica johnson will have the forecast in just a moment. and on every issue, the choice you face won't just be between two candidates or two parties, it will be a choice between two different paths for america. >> president obama calling on american voters to stay the course as he asks for another four years in office. good morning. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> i'm eun yang. welcome to "news4 today" on this friday, september 7th, 2012. we begin with a story

involving a prominent football program. this morning five players dematha football players are off the team because of prostitutes. their trip for their first game in north carolina. according to a parent of a player who has now withdrawn from the school the players used a website to hire and sneak three prostitutes into their room last saturday after bed checks were done. some players reportedly had sexual relations with the prostitut prostitutes. two players have since withdrawn from school, two are recommended for expulsion. one has a disciplinary hearing this morning. this morning the naacp demanding answers after a district heights police officer shot a man already under arrest. they arrested calvin kyle for trying to steal a motorcycle yesterday afternoon near foster street. kyle tried to run away and the police fired. we spoke to a